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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23302921">A Bit of a Romantic</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varil_Lara/pseuds/Varil_Lara'>Varil_Lara</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dimension 20 (Web Series), Tiny Heist (Dimension 20- Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, This is so dumb I'm so sorry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 13:01:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,730</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23302921</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varil_Lara/pseuds/Varil_Lara</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bean misreads the situation, badly.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dantes/Bean</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Bit of a Romantic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So I recently watched Tiny Heist and it's super good and Dantes flirting with Bean killed me, but not as much as Griffin/Bean suggesting he was jealous when Dantes flirted with other people.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The invitation is short. Much shorter than what he’d expect from a creature he’d never known to be brief in the slightest. Yet there it was, a single line:</p><p>
  <em>Dinner in Trash City, tomorrow evening.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>-Dantes</em>
</p><p>He’s not sure when tomorrow evening is supposed to be, especially since the postal system around the yard can be iffy, but he decides to take a guess and head out the next evening. That gives him just over a day to plan how he’s going to get there.</p><p>It’s a long way from the new heap to the old one, and an even longer way to Trash City. Not an impossible distance- he’s done it before several times now at this point- but an inconvenient one at least. He considers asking Car-go for a lift, but the invitation is lacking when it comes to specifics like exact time and location, and he doesn’t want to ask his friend to be away from his child for god-knows-however long just so that he can go on this little outing. Besides, Rick had recently made a scene that needed to be dealt with. On brand for Rick, he thought; disappearing for two months then resurfacing in the flashiest way possible. Sort of how Dantes just had with this invitation.</p><p>He hadn’t heard anything from him since he’d crawled out of Felix’s car and handed Marty over to the grass-coppers; something which Bean had found more than a little odd, but had decided to accept. To his surprise, he’d also had to accept the fact that there was no flirty comment tossed his way by Dantes, nor a wink thrown over his shell at him as he’d trotted off, nor anything at all for the past two months. Not that he really should have expected anything considering what he’d heard him say to Boomer and Felix over the hearing stones. It had taken a full day of meditation to convince himself that that hadn’t stirred any jealousy in him, and another to accept that it had and to move on. Remembering all that, he’s tempted to not go to this dinner at all- realising that it will end up in a one-off hook up- but part of him argues there’s no harm in it. Part of him also really wants to see Dantes again, even if it is for a one night only kind of thing.</p><p>His mind flicks over every option for travel- one of Agnes’ cars, something whipped up by Ti, having Boomer come pick him up if he’s still got his hearing stone on him- but instead he decides to just make the journey on foot, sneaking out of his training early to get there in a reasonable amount of time.</p><p>That just leaves the question of clothes.</p><p>He’s managed to pick himself up a new banana peel robe in the two months since the heist, but he’s also gotten himself a few new things as well, no longer hanging onto that last piece of home. There’s another robe made of leaves now, as well as a real fabric doll shirt, and trousers- something he’s never been quite comfortable in. He’ll pass on those, which makes it a little awkward to wear the shirt since they’re sewn together, so leaf robe it is. He’s not exactly sure why he feels the need to dress up for this, but he does and so he indulges it.</p><p>The rest of the two days pass in a way he finds hard to understand; far too fast and too slow all at the same time. There’s something gnawing at his stomach and it takes him a while to realise that it’s nervousness. He’d thought he’d long since lost the ability to feel anything close to it, but apparently, he thought wrong. It was a little annoying; he could be totally calm whilst hanging off the roof of a speeding vehicle in a life or death chase- whilst battery acid and paint-thinner filled water balloons, steep ramps, and ballista bolts all stood between him and freedom- but a dinner date brought back an emotion he’d long since suppressed. He’d fought Felix Flick on top of a moving station wagon, but this? This was apparently too much.</p><p>When it’s time to sneak out, he doesn’t need to. Master Buttons is hard to get things past and she gives him permission to leave early, telling him to enjoy himself. He can tell from the look in her eyes that she doesn’t fully trust the situation, but he’s not the same kid who had stumbled into the Watermelon Temple all those moons ago, and she at least trusts him.</p><p>He finds a rickshaw waiting when he scales the wall down from Max’s bedroom, along with a mouse holding a sign with ‘BEAN’ written on it, allowing there to be no mistake about who it’s for. There’s also no mistake about who sent it either. It’s almost romantic, and Bean is surprised by the effort Dantes is putting into this mission that amounts to nothing more than an attempt at getting Bean into bed with him. He jumps in and the mouse takes off with purpose, and actually, never mind, it’s not as romantic as he thought. Of course Dantes sent a rickshaw, how else was he supposed to ensure that Bean made it where he wanted him? It’s still a nice gesture, he thinks.</p><p>The sun doesn’t even manage to fully set before he’s weaving in and out of Trash City streets. The mouse definitely knows where she’s going, and Bean allows himself to be taken in by the sights of the city he had worked legally in for a single night, then illegally for several more. There are posters for shows and amongst them, he’s glad to see a musical with Boomer’s name on it, not that the beetle had given any on the team a chance to not know about it. Perhaps next time he met up with Dantes, he could suggest they go to one of the shows together. He’s quick to remind himself that there most likely will not be a next time.</p><p>The mouse pulls up outside a structure made from an old wine box that must’ve once belonged to Susan. It’s considerably nicer than many of the other buildings around town, golden light pouring out from fairy dust fuelled lanterns. He pats down his leaf robe for anything he can use to pay for the ride, but the mouse holds up her hand and pulls the rickshaw back into the street. Dantes must have already paid her. It’s full of chatter when he walks inside, and a lot busier than it had appeared from without. There’s now also the distinct pulse of a mystic music; designed to be noticeable, but not particularly memorable. For all the bittyfolk, critters, fairies, and maybe even a few toys milling about, it’s not incredibly hard to spot his host. He’s got the same hat he’s always got on, as well as what looks to be a bit of extra flash. Bean thinks this might be what he heard Agnes once refer to as ‘peacocking’ but he’s not sure.</p><p>He slips into the seat across from Dantes, who hides his surprise at seeing him rather well.</p><p>“’Sup man?”</p><p>He sounds as cool as ever. Now that he’s finally here, he feels it too.</p><p>“Well, I’m glad to see you made it. I hope you enjoyed the rickshaw?”</p><p>Not exactly what he’d thought would be the first things out of his mouth.</p><p>“Yeah, it was good. Saved me from hafin’ t’ walk too far.”</p><p>“Good, good. I’d hate for you to have worked those legs to tiredness when I plan to do just that later tonight.”</p><p>There it was.</p><p>He doesn’t know exactly what to say after that, so he just gives a vague “Well, y’know.” and laughs.</p><p>A fairy server puts down two menus, and Dantes winks and tells him to get whatever he wants. It almost feels dirty to Bean, like he’s being bought, but perhaps it is truly just that when you get right down to it.</p><p>After the move to the new heap in Max’s bedroom, the diet of the Watermelon Temple indeed changed on his suggestion. They still stick mostly to all-natural stuff, but with cheese puffs and cupcake crumbs being almost everywhere, it would be wasteful to leave them to rot. They’re all about not letting things go to waste at the Watermelon Temple. He orders something with shrimp that looks a bit too pricey for what it’ll be, but he goes for it anyway. When it actually arrives, he realises why it cost so much, looking to be a full slice of a jumbo shrimp's tail seasoned with various kinds of snack food dust and pollen. Dantes laughs when his eyes widen, and he realises that heist or no, he’s still in many ways the unknowing heaper.</p><p>There’s very little talk at first, but Bean is nothing if not determined to turn this into a proper outing, one that was worth all the worrying and getting dressed up- something which seems to have gone unnoticed. It’s not because of any hurt feelings that he breaks the silence with “Whadaya think of my new robe?”.</p><p>He gets a grin in response and:<br/>“Breath-taking, the only improvement I could suggest is that you not be wearing it at all.”</p><p>The rest of the meal passes like that. They talk about anything that comes to Bean’s mind in the moment, and occasionally Dantes throws a lascivious comment or two his way. It’s not strange to him, like the first time at Shoeby’s. It’s not uncomfortable like what he heard him say about him to Agnes over the hearing stones. It’s surprisingly welcome, and he’s glad there’s no one around but him to receive the attention. He’s probably not the first to feel that way, but it’s certainly the first time he’s felt that way; he’s been flirted with before, and flirted right back, but it’s never been like this. Maybe it’s the knowledge that for just one night, he’s the focus of Dantes’ interest. He takes a sip of battery acid from his partner's glass, who laughs and looks as if he’s about to offer him the entire thing. Instead, he says:</p><p>“It's probably best neither of us has too much of that.”</p><p>Bean agrees and takes another sip. Dantes laughs again and calls him a minx, and he’s thrown back to that first encounter in the casino. He’d made nothing of it then, but here he was two months later on a date based exactly on that.</p><p>As expected, Dantes pays for the meal and they trot out together. There’s no rickshaw awaiting him outside, and he takes that as a sign that he’s going back to wherever Dantes calls home. They tottle down the street, Bean tossing out any insight that comes to mind about their surroundings. The sun has long set at this point, and crowds are beginning to pile up on the pavements outside of bars and casinos. He sees a group at a diner table, leaning in close together and muttering; perhaps planning a heist like the one that he had been part of not too long ago. Without Car-go, or Agnes, or Rick, or Boomer, or Ti he doubts they’ll get very far. His eyes slide over to Dantes, who has begun to criticise some of the newer performances around, and wonders how far they would have gotten in their own heist without his help. His team was brilliant, they would have figured things out without the additional help.</p><p>A fairly nice building comes into view as they make their way to the outskirts of Trash City. The lights are off, but he can see that the windows are curtained. There’s the jingle of keys and Dantes moves ahead. He himself stops and watches as the door is unlocked for him, and as he’s gestured at to come inside. He does, but doesn’t miss the sound of a rickshaw coming up the street. Looks like he won’t be staying the whole night. The kitchen light is turned on and when he enters there’s a glass of lemonade waiting for him. That same gnawing in his stomach returns as they sit across from each other at the kitchen island; he knows what’s coming- has done since the invitation arrived- and wishes they wouldn’t drag out the waiting any longer. He makes his desire known.</p><p>“Look, not to be pushy or anythin’, but how about we move up to your room?”</p><p>Once again, Dantes hides his surprise well and suddenly he’s worried that he’s been reading this situation the wrong way this whole time. Unlikely, but suddenly he’s not so sure. They still head upstairs.</p><p>The bed in the master bedroom is soft.</p><p>When they finish up- in about fifty-three seconds, which is long enough for him because he was only half joking when he said time moves differently for him- Bean feels a weight leaving him and finds himself satisfied. It’s not the same satisfaction he got from watching Felix get turned to mush inside of Car-go, or when the faces of his fellow monks lit up when he brought home his share from the roll of quarters. It’s softer than that; the feeling that something that had been plaguing him for a long time finally letting up and leaving. He has a feeling it’s been around since the incident at Shoeby’s and he’s glad to see it go. There’s not much to clean up, but he still dashes under the droplets from a leaking tap in what he assumes is the bathroom, hoping he doesn’t drown in them. When he exits, Dantes apologises for not having any bittyfolk sized facilities, making an off-hand comment about getting some installed. At least, he thinks it’s off-hand.</p><p>The mouse is still waiting outside, flicking through a magazine. He’s incredibly glad she’s there because making it out of the house had been a bit of a difficulty and the walk back to the heap would have been more of a trek than usual. Not that he couldn’t do it; he’s nothing if not durable. Dantes pushes his face against his cheek and Bean wonders where he learnt such European gestures, then wonders where he learnt about Europe himself. A thought strikes him just as the mouse is about to start off, and he pulls out his hearing stone and hands it over to Dantes.</p><p>“Put yer details in here,” he doesn’t know what makes him so bold, but he did once tell him to get his people to call his people, and they are their own people as Master Buttons would say.</p><p>His date obliges. The mouse takes off.</p><p>When he gets back to the wall with Max’s bedroom window, he again tries to pay for the ride and is again waved off. Dylan’s tent light is on across the yard and he gives a moment to the thought that he should have her ride him over there to see Car-go and Rick, and probably Minetta, but decides that it probably best to just go straight home.</p><p>The next day, Ti asks him why he seems so strange, and he tells her the full truth until she starts to pull faces and then he begins to cut things out. Her parents give him a look and he cuts even more out. The day after that, Master Buttons comments on him seeming to have become a little calmer, and gives him a pleased “Hell Yes”. The day after that, nothing. Then the same the next day, and the next. Just like it had been for the last two months, only this time he doesn’t get that same tugging in his chest when he thinks about Dantes. There's still a small twinge of jealousy when he thinks about the fact that he’s probably with someone else at the moment, and that’s something he’ll need to work on, but it’s not the same as what he felt during the heist.</p><p>It’s a week later that the next invitation arrives.</p><p>
  <em>Join me for a show?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>-Dantes</em>
</p><p>He grabs his hearing stone.</p><p>“Y’know you could just call me right?”</p><p>“Yes, but if you couldn’t tell: I’m a bit of a romantic.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Man, this is dumb.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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